Lethal affections
by spinzaku04
Summary: After an argument with Nowaki, Hiroki begins receiving love letters from a secret admirer. In order to not put more strain on his relationship he decides to not tell Nowaki. The letters soon become threatening and by the time the other man finds out, it might already be too late. ((Rated T for probable gore))
1. Chapter 1

AN/ hellooooo everyone! This story came up with me and a friend watching this series together recently and talking about various things to do with this couple, such as how sad it is when they argue and how cool Nowaki was when he almost punched Miyagi's lights out for touching his hiro-San XD so we came up with this plot line and I was begged to write it

Hiroki had never been all that popular in the field of romance and he had absolutely no illusions about this. All his life he had known he wasn't the most attractive guy in the world, not to mention his personality left much to be desired. During his youth it had caused him much emotional distress, especially with the added insecurities brought on by his unrequited feelings for his childhood friend weighing down on his self image. Though after his meeting and falling for his lover, Nowaki, all those unsure feelings had been pushed to the back of his mind and despite them returning in moments of weakness, he was relatively at ease. Nonetheless he knew he was anything but the type of guy people gave a second look at, that's why the happenings of that morning had seemed so utterly baffling to say the least.

It was seven am when Hiroki reached his office on that mid winter morning. He was in an all round bad mood, having had rushed from the house without breakfast after a minor, but still stressful, argument with Nokwaki in order to make an early start at work. It had been a stupid argument anyway. One that really just simply shouldn't have happened to begin with.

~~As always, it seemed that lately Hiroki had hardly gotten the chance to spend so much as an evening with Nowaki due to their conflicting schedules. Despite the fact that they still got along perfectly well, nothing scared Hiroki as much as the thought of them growing apart and Nowaki falling out of love in their long periods of hardly even talking. That's why Hiroki had decided to ditch his pride for the night and organise a romantic night for the two of them. Nowaki had told Hiroki to expect him home by nine so the older had planned the perfect scene for his lover to return to.

Thus, Hiroki stood at the stove, preparing Nowaki's favourite meal so that it would be hot when he returned, as he would at any minute. It was almost turning over to nine o'clock at that time. Hiroki couldn't help feeling slightly nervous. He had dressed nice and styled his hair special for the occasion and he had cleaned the house spotless as well as having set up a romantic dining area complete with all the good silverware and the lacy white table cloth. He had even dimmed the light. It was exactly the kind of thing that Nowaki loved, so he hoped he would arrive home and smile that big, childishly happy smile and as long as Hiroki could handle the embarrassment, he would tell his lover he loves him and give him a kiss. Then they would sit and eat and talk about whatever they felt like. Nowaki would say something sweet and grateful like always and Hiroki would tell him he was glad. They would go to bed and spend the rest of the night together.

Hiroki blushed brightly as he took the food off the heat and covered it so it would retain it's warmth. He knew he would have to swallow his pride for this night to go as planned, but tonight was for Nowaki. Anyway, he could be romantic every now and again, as long as it was for Nowaki.

Hiroki sat at the table and stared at the door, anxiously waiting for Nowaki's face to appear in that threshold. He had hardly noticed how excited he actually was until that moment but now it was almost too much to handle. Most of all he just wanted to see that perfect, beautiful smile that no one but Nowaki could pull off so spectacularly. Hiroki couldn't help but smile lightly at the image in his mind. He really did love Nowaki.

Time past slowly and the door had yet to open to reveal Nowaki. Hiroki had no idea how long it had been but he refused to believe Nowaki was late, instead he told himself his nerves were just making time pass slower. He even avoided looking at the clock out of fear of crushing his delusions. However, he still found himself worrying. What if something had happened to him on his way home and he was sitting there worrying about dinner getting cold? He sighed and put his head down on the table, trying to ignore all of the negative thoughts bombarding him. It wasn't long until he drifted out of consciousness at the table he had set.

A familiar creaking sound is what finally woke him. Hiroki's eyes fluttered open, finding it was already morning and now looking for the source of the sound that had woken him. He straightened and was met with the sight of Nowaki discretely trying to remove his shoes at the front door. Hiroki couldn't believe it. He had waited all night and Nowaki was just now getting in? Had he even bothered to tell him he'd be late? No!

Nowaki, having removed his shoes, turned to see Hiroki staring at him from the table.

"Oh, Hiro-San, you're up early." He walked closer with a slight frown. "Are you okay? You didn't fall asleep in a weird place again, did you?"

Hiroki gritted his teeth and shot up, glaring angrily at the new arrival. "No! No, I'm not okay!" He yelled angrily, taking Nowaki by surprise. "How could you stay out all night without a single word to me? Don't I deserve to know these kinds of things!?"

Nowaki reached out a calming hand towards Hiroki with concern. "I'm sorry, I was-" He was interrupted when Hiroki slapped away the comforting hand and pushed past the other man.

"I don't want to hear it! Obviously I'm not a big enough part of your life anymore for you to consider me worthy enough of knowing where you are. For all I knew you'd been killed on the way home, but who cares if I'm worried right!?" Hiroki raged as he gathered his work supplies and stuffed them in his bag.

"I do care! Please just calm down for a moment and I can explain." Nowaki all but pleaded as he followed the fuming Hiroki around the house.

" I said I didn't want to hear it! I tried to do something nice and you stand me up, again. I'm done with explanations right now! I'm leaving!"

"Leaving? Hiro-San, please wait! We can talk this out."

Hiroki stomped over to the door. "We can talk later, I'm way too pissed right now." He growled as he opened the door and turned back briefly. "Oh, yeah, I made you dinner. It's cold now but heat it up and it will be just fine." He stepped out, slamming the door behind him and demanding that Nowaki not follow. He then hurried away from the house as the familiar feeling of anger turning to hurt began to overtake him and cause his eyes to feel moist. God, he was such a child.~~

Hiroki sighed to himself as he sat at his desk. He hated fighting with Nowaki and he knew it was mostly his fault for loosing his temper, but he couldn't help getting mad some times. It hurt when he thought that Nowaki didn't deem it important to keep him up to date. He didn't seem to care if Hiroki spent the whole night waiting for him, worrying about if something had happened. He didn't really blame the guy, he knew that he most likely had a very good reason and already felt guilty as it was. All Hiroki ever managed to do was make things worse for Hiroki with his outbursts.

Shaking his head, Hiroki tried to focus his mind on his work. He pulled out his laptop and began clearing a spot at his desk. He pushed away a pile of books absentmindedly, accidentally causing them to topple off the edge of the desk. He let out a low groan of annoyance as he stood from his seat and knelt before the fallen books, picking them up one by one and re-stacking them atop the desk. He retrieved the last book but as he did so, he spotted something lying just beneath it. A small, royal blue envelope with gold trims lying face down on the ground. It must have been left on the stack of books, Hiroki had just failed to see it earlier. Curiously, he took up the envelope and flipped over to its front. Written in beautiful cursive across the top of the envelope was just one phrase, and that was;

"Dearest Kamijou" Hiroki read out loud, looking down at it with a puzzled expression. He couldn't think of anyone who would leave him something like this. The word 'dearest' made him think instantly of Nowaki, but Nowaki would never call him by Kamijou. Not to mention his lovers hand writing was completely different to this

Cautiously, he to opened the unsealed envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper matching the same beautiful blue as it's packaging it had come from. He stared down at the page of writings for a moment and began reading it carefully, curious as to what it was.

"Dearest Kamijou

Please do pardon me as I take this whim on which I live to send to you my strongest affections. All but every day I gaze upon your you porcelain skin and I am reminded of the finest beauties of this world. Your chestnut hair and cinnamon eyes make my heart flutter in my chest as if it were about to burst in the presence of your perfection. It is a cruelty that I am forced to whiteness the object of my devotion so close yet so far from my heart, which beats solely for you. Can you not feel the fire of my desire? Can you not hear my heart pound in need of your attention? When you're eyes just so happen to pass my way, though I know it is not me you are seeing, I can't abandon the hope that maybe just once you have noticed my longing gaze and perhaps spared a thought just for me. If that were truth I could truly die a happy man. This love I hold weighs me down. It is so heavy I fear I can not keep my head above water for much longer. My only hope is that you can accept this love and free me of this burden. You are my one and only so please hear these words of love and never forget the flame I carry for you, so that one day I could possibly hold you in my arms and be the one you call your true love.

With love, your secret admirer"

By the end of the letter, Hirokis face was heated with a deep flush as he tried to process all he had just read. Secret admires didn't really exist, right? They were just something seen in movies and books. People didn't really receive anonymous romantic letters, did they? Hiroki hadn't thought so, yet there he was, kneeling on the ground, a written confession of love held in is hands, without a single clue as to who it could possibly be from. The only thing he knew was whoever it was had referred to themself as a man, and that they were most likely from this school. Somehow, Hiroki found himself chewing on his lip, tring to think of the best way in which to approach such an unheard of situation. He couldn't return this persons feelings. Nowaki was the only person he could see himself loving for the rest of his life, but there was no way of letting the sender down gently if he didn't know who it was from.

He shoved the letter back in its envelope and tucked it inside his bag. He didn't have the mental ability to deal with this at the given moment, so he would just ignore it for the time being and deal with it when the time arrived when he knew how. For now, he would keep this to himself. He had enough troubles with Nowaki at the moment as it was so throwing this in right now would just cause trouble for the two of them. There was no one else who would need to know, so nobody would. He was a grown man, he could handle someone's silly little crush.

He sat and opened his laptop to get back to work but somehow his mind continued to linger on the content of the letter. He blushed as he recalled how the sender had described him. Whoever it was sure had an imagination to think he was something as beautiful as the sender made him sound. He was a grumpy, scary looking man who furrows his eyebrows was too much. Everybody knew that. The only person who ever said otherwise was Nowaki, and that's because he's Nowaki. There was no was whoever this guy was thought so highly of him. It was impossible. It was probably just a student after a better mark by sucking up, or maybe some kind of practical joke. Yes, definitely one of those two.

The door opened behind him but Hiroki didn't bother looking up.

"Kamijou! Good morning!" Miyagi greated in an almost annoyingly enthusiastic tone of voice.

"Morning, professor Miyagi." Hiroki grumbled formally as the other man got settled in the office they shared.

Nowaki sighed and collapsed onto the sofa, feeling incredibly guilty for upsetting Hiroki so much he didn't even want to talk. It took a lot to get him that mad, that was for sure. The only option was to make it up to the other man and explain why he had been gone without contact for so long. He had already felt bad about it, but upon realising the special night Hiroki had planed increased it a tenfold. So tonight, Nowaki was going to make another special night, just for his Hiroki.


	2. Chapter 2

AN/ really bad. I mean really bad, I hated how this chapter turned out but I give up. The main plot is being set up and will start soon I promise.

That day the last thing Hiroki wanted to think about was going home and facing Nowaki after that mornings drama. Unfortunately, that particular day at work for the teacher consisted of only two morning classes (as half his students were off campus for the next two weeks for a study trip) and those were over in a flash, leaving Hiroki alone in his office to mull over his options for the rest of the day to come. Usually, after being out all night Nowaki would sleep soundly through the day. However; whenever they were at an odds as they were now, Nowaki never slept. Hiroki glanced at the cell phone sitting on the top of his stack of books and chewed contemplatively at his lip. He could call Nowaki out for lunch as a way of showing he wasn't angry. He had no doubt Nowaki would jump at the opportunity, they would go out, Nowaki would apologise and explain himself, Hiroki would do the same and everything would be back to normal, problem solved.

He reached out and grabbed the small device and began to nervously punch in the number he had memorised like the back of his hand. Holding the phone to his ear he continued to gnaw at his already raw lip. He listened to the tone ring out once, twice, then again, and again...

"The number you are trying to reach is unavailable, please call back later or leave a message..."

Hiroki blinked in surprise at the mechanical voice. The only time Nowaki didn't take his calls is when his phone was turned off, but as the message had said that wasn't the case. Could it be that he didn't want to talk to him? He was probably upset with him, or maybe. He was with his senpai again and he was too busy with him to take his call.

Hiroki shook his head defiantly, attempting to rid himself of the negative thoughts closing in on him. Nowaki probably just couldn't make it to his phone in time. Yeah, that had to be it.

His phone vibrated in his hand and he looked down to see a text from the very person he had been trying to reach. He opened it and began reading through the message.

-I'm sorry Hiro-San, I couldn't quite reach my phone. Is everything alright? Are you okay? I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon.-

Hiroki couldn't help doing further damage to his bottom lip as he read the text through and through. He couldn't reach his phone? That was a strange way of putting it. Did he mean he literally couldn't reach it? But what could he be doing that would make it that difficult to reach his phone? Hiroki's heart sank as images of Nowaki and Tsumori doing inappropriate things in his bed appeared in his mind. He bit down harder on his abused lip, dismissing the thought and reasoning that Nowaki would never cheat on him. He considered writing a message back but instead opted for calling, feeling it would better put his mind at ease. This time it only took two tones until he got through to his lover.

"Hiro-San, Hiro-San!" Nowaki's breathless sounding voice greeted him, again stirring feelings of anxiety in the older man.

"Nowaki? Are you panting?" Hiroki asked slowly, unsure of his own voice as he found it harder to keep under control.

"Ano, I guess I am. Are you alright? Like I said I was surprised you contacted me so early... About earlier I-"

"I'm fine." Hiroki interjected shortly, choosing to ignore the fact that Nowaki had failed to explain the fact that he was so breathless. "I have some free time, I was wondering if you wanted to meet me for lunch?"

There was a long pause. "I'm sorry Hiro-San, I would love to but I, ano, I'm really quite exhausted, if probably just fall asleep halfway through."

"Oh, I can just come straight home and make you something if you'd like, I have enough time-"

"Please don't!" Nowaki exclaimed desperately.

Hiroki's eyes widened, feeling a painful spike in his chest at hearing his lover push him away so easily. Nowaki had never not wanted him around, not in all the years they had known each other.

"Ano, I mean-!' Nowaki struggled to right himself after his outburst, only to be interrupted by another voice in the background.

"Ne, Nowaki, what's taking you?" A cheeky voice sounded from the other end of the call. Without a doubt, that was Tsumori.

"Just a minute, senpai! Hiro-San, I'm sorry I just-"

"No, it's fine, I get it." Hiroki spoke as calmly as he could feeling a mixture of hurt and angry. "Have fun with your senpai. I'll see you when I see you. Bye." He spoke his last word with anseething anger as he hung up. He had lost what little composure he had left now, lost in his mix of painful emotions that plagued his very being. He felt betrayed. He had been so ready to blame himself for everything earlier but now he had no idea what to think or where to go. He couldn't go home, but then where? He couldn't stay at the school in this state of mind. Miyagi would return any minute now and he would hassle him to no end and he was in no state to deal with that. He had to get out.

Right as this thought sprung to mind, his phone began ringing loudly. It was him. In a fit of anger Hiroki threw the device to the ground, smashing it to pieces right before his eyes and putting the insistent ringing to an end. He couldn't hold back the tears that began to form in his eyes now. He had no idea as to what exactly it was he was crying about, it was all just too much. He simply couldn't take it another moment. He turned and fled to the door, throwing it open and running out only to be knocked off his feet by a sudden impact.

Hiroki's heart began to race. He must have run into someone in the hall. This couldn't be happening. Not while he was in such a messed up state. He hadn't wanted anyone to see Kamijou the devil cry. His life was over.

"A-ano, excuse me I-I just-" he rubbed furiously at his eyes trying to expel the dampness from his face.

"Hiroki?"

The sound of a familiar voice caused him to freeze in his place. He looked up nervously and was met with a look of surprise from his old friend, Usami Akihiko.

Heat spread across his cheeks and he hid his face from the man looking down at him. He couldn't believe this was happening. He wanted to compose himself but he couldn't quell all these unwanted emotions.

"Akihiko, what a-are you doing here? If your looking for that Misaki brat of yours he's away on a study trip..."

Without a word, Usami pulled the other man off the ground and refused to let up on his interrogating gaze. Hiroki, however, was stubborn. His eyes remained glued to the ground by his feet, as he continually whipped away the embarrassing tears before they could fall.

"Hiroki..."

"What?" Hiroki mumbled awkwardly.

A large hand reached out, grasping Hiroki's jaw and forcing him to look the other man in the eye.

"Don't be short with me, Hiroki." Usami spoke calmly. "You're crying."

Hiroki pulled away with a scowl. "Thank you, captain obvious. Incase you didn't hear me, Misaki isn't here so you can leave now. Excuse me I have to-"

"Stop avoiding me, I'm here for you, not Misaki."

Hiroki froze, feeling the real meaning behind his friends words. Usami was there for him. He always seemed to forget that after everything, Usami was still his best friend. Just like he had said, Usami was there for him.

"If you don't want to talk here, I was going to ask you and your partner out for drinks since Misaki isn't around..."

Hiroki clenched his fists and looked down. "Forget about Nowaki, let's go. I need a drink." He agreed, quite looking forward to drinking away his troubles. "He's a bastard anyway."

Usami drove in silence, sparing occasional glances at his long time friend who was currently in the passenger side seat. It had been a shock to find the usually prideful man in a state of distress he hadn't seen since they were both children. At least Hiroki had managed to stop crying by the time they reached the car but he was still evidently upset. In all honesty Usami was rather angry himself. He had yet to get any details from the man but it was obvious that Nowaki guy had done something to upset him. Usami and Nowaki had an understanding. Neither really disliked the other, but they both knew they would never really get along. Nowaki was uncomfortable with the relationship between Hiroki and Usami, and Usami still held unease over the pain the man had caused Hiroki during his year in America. When Usami had discovered Nowaki was back in the country and that he had gotten back together with Hiroki, he hadn't been too thrilled. He still had trouble deciding where he stood in regards to the subject of the young doctor. He didn't like seeing his old friend getting hurt, though he knew that despite the hardships, Nowaki was the only one he'd ever seen make Hiroki as happy as he made him. Pain was just an inevitable part of love.

"Akihiko..." Hiroki finally spoke up over the silence.

"Yes." Usami glanced back to Hiroki who was occupied in watching the buildings pass by his gaze.

"This may seem random, but, do you think I'm tiresome?" The man asked rather wistfully.

Usami stopped his car, feeling grateful that he had reached the destination so he could focus his attention on his friend. He gave Hiroki a stern look.

"F-forget I asked!" Hiroki laughed awkwardly, realising how oddly he had been behaving up until this point.

"No."

"What?"

"No, I don't think your tiresome. Do you think you are?"

Hiroki huffed and looked away. "I'm not exactly the most likeable person. My personality prevents me from making friends. It's a miracle anybody puts up with me."

"So that's what this is about. You think Kusama-San is tired of you."

"I- no, I just-!" Hiroki's voice hitched slightly "I don't know, maybe? How should I know!? I don't know what it is, that's what I'm trying to figure out... I don't know what to make of it... First he's out all night without so much of a message, then he doesn't take my call, when he does he's panting like he's been doing something exhausting, when he claims he's been too tiere to leave the house. Next he yells at me not to come home and I find out he's there with that senpai of his from the hospital... I don't want to think he's doing anything unsavoury but I can't think of what else it can be." Hiroki sniffed awkwardly and rubbed at his already swollen eyes.

Usami reached over and ruffled his friends hair comfortingly. He didn't know what he really could do or say.

"Sorry, I'm so stupid and emotional... It's my fault anyway." Hiroki laughed "I mean, I'm always angry and I suck at expressing myself. I wouldn't love me either so I'm not surprised Nowaki doesn't want me around... He's just too nice to say he's unhappy..."

"Hiroki, it's not your fault. You need to have more self confidence."

Hiroki scoffed. "In case you hadn't noticed 'self confidence' doesn't exactly grow on trees, Akahiko."

"You're right, it doesn't, but by now don't you have reason to think a little more highly of yourself? You're a good person."

"Yeah, good person, that's why I'm called Kamijou the devil."

AN/ review, please


	3. Chapter 3

AN/ long chapter! Not very good, mostly junk. Explains what Nowaki was up to when Hiroki called and the secret admirer makes a move on poor Hiroki~ I got a review saying that last chapter with akihiko was unnecessary, but this chapter shows why his appearance was relevant~

It had been a perfectly simple idea to begin with. Prepare a romantic evening for himself and Hiro-San, easy, or so he had thought. Unfortunately the world had far different plans for the day.

As soon as Hiroki stormed out of the room Nowaki had found he had no idea what to do with himself. With a light sigh he walked into the kitchen and began cleaning what Hiroki had prepared the previous night. His heart clenched seeing all the effort his lover had gone to in making a beautiful meal. If it weren't for the situation Nowaki would have happily eaten it now but at this point food was the last thing on his mind. He really did have a reason for not making it home, but that was no excuse for making Hiro-San worry. At least there was a slight amount of comfort in the fact that all he had expressed being upset about were implying that what was bothering him more than anything was his insecurities about their relationship. This wasn't the first time these insecurities had posed a problem on both of their accounts but most of the time, a problem like this only required reassurance to fix and that would be easy now that Nowaki had managed to get himself a whole week off work.

Nowaki had been working overtime for weeks, raising money and gaining his rank so he could get this week off during the school break. This way they could do everything they wanted to do together, including something they hadn't done in weeks and Nowaki had been itching to get done the whole time (if you catch my drift). Step one would be initiated that night when he made up for everything by doing just what Hiroki had tried to do the night before, setting up a romantic evening for the two of them. Now he just had to set it up. He sat at the couch and picked up a pen and paper. He began scrawling out the needed supplies to creat exactly what he had imagined. It didn't take long until the page was filled to the edges with all the little things he pictured. Flowers and candles, and all of those little things he knew Hiroki would never admit he loved like strawberries and lemon sherbet. Nowaki couldn't help but smile at the thought of a blushing Hiroki confronted with all his secret guilty pleasures. He had never told a sole about these things, the only way Nowaki had found out was from the times he had snuck looks at his lover and found him indulging himself on some rare occasion in which he was stressed enough to give in.

After double checking his list he made an extra note on all the places he would have to go in order to collect it all. This list included the market, a liquor store, a sweets store, a flower shop and even a used book shop. Good thing he'd been saving so long or this would have taken a large chunk from his living expenses. As things were he was hardly making a dint in his funds.

Checking the time, he noted that he still had hours until Hiroki was set to return from work. Nowaki was hoping his partner would at some point take the time to call. Nowaki would call him but as he had long ago discovered, Hiroki didn't answer calls when he was mad. It didn't really matter, he would call as soon as he was calm enough so all Nowaki had to do was wait. He only wished to know if the other man was alright. He obviously hadn't slept well that night after all. So, in the mean time he had more than enough of a time frame to get things ready, there was no harm in getting things started early, right? On account to this logic, Nowaki opted to get to work right away, or rather, he would have hadn't he felt so utterly exhausted. He didn't want to sleep, but he'd never get anything done like this, and even if he did by time Hiroki made it home he would definitely be too worn out to live up to the standards he had set for himself. Biting his lip uneasily, he set an alarm for two hours time and laid down on the couch. If he woke in two hours he'd still have five more to prepare and that would surely be enough. This way he would at least be able to make it through diner without passing out.

Not long after his eyes fell shut he was deep asleep, as was to be expected of a man who had just pulled an all nighter away from home. He dreamt of simple things, of a house in a small town with just himself and Hiroki and a little dog in the yard. A childish dream he had had since he was a child dreaming of having his own family. He would never forget the day that the faceless figure who was forever by his side was replaced with Hirokis features. Nowaki knew his lover wasn't into all that sentimental stuff like he was and he knew he would never agree to owning a dog, but that wasn't the point. The point of the matter was that despite not being married, despite not having kids even a pet, they were as much a family as anyone else, if not more so. Some family's were held together only by obligation and nothing else, Nowaki failed to believe these had any more right to be called a family than he and the man he loved. Thus he dreamt of that little house and his makeshift family. He dreamt of kissing good bye and hugging hello. Mostly he dreamt of happiness, for that was what this little imaginary world was to him and nothing else.

His dreams had been so sweet that he grew to resent the lack of a snooze button on Hiroki's alarm clock. The insistent droning of the device shook the young man from his peaceful rest and alerted him that two hours had passed in what seemed far too short to believe. It was saddening, though he didn't need those silly little dreams to be happy. All he needed for that was his Hiro-San and that was exactly why he had to get up. He pried himself off of the couch and turned off the alarm with a soft yawn. He almost straight away checked his phone but saw no missed calls or messages. He felt slightly dejected at this but quickly let it slide. He hadn't really been expecting any to begin with, he had just been hopeful that maybe Hiroki had already forgiven him.

Once he had fully awakened from his nap he went about getting ready to go out which wasn't hard as he was still dressed from the day before. He was out the door, list in hand within mere minutes and walking at a brisk pace towards his first destination, the book store. He only needed to collect one item from there so it would be logical to go there first. Next was the liquor store, also only one item to collect, then then the sweet store, again only a few items, after that was the market where he needed to get most of his supplies from and last but not least, the flower shop. He would buy the flowers last so that they would last longer. However; these facts weren't really relevant as the events of that day that were of true importance started upon Nowaki's arrival home.

Nowaki had yet to even surpass the threshold of the door to his house when he felt arms fling around his neck from behind. The young doctor let out a startled noise as he had to struggle to keep his balance. He gazed over his shoulder and found Tsumori grinning at his kouhai's look of surprise.

"Oh, it's just you, senpai," Nowaki gave a small sigh and Tsumori released his grasp on the man. "You surprised me."

"I noticed." The blonde watched the other juggle his various bags in order to get the door open. "But shouldn't you have just assumed I was that 'Hiro-San' of yours?"

Nowaki ignored the small amount of annoyance that came along with his superior referring to Hiroki as 'Hiro-San'. There was nothing like jealousy there, he knew Tsumori had no interest in Hiroki and vice versa and he also knew the only reason Tsumori ever used the name Hiro-San was the fact that it was what Nowaki called his lover when he spoke of him. The sole reason it bothered him was because it was his special name, the one he and no one else used. At least, that's te way it was meant to be.

Moving on, Nowaki replied. "Hiro-San isn't home right now, he has work. Besides, he doesn't often do things that bold." He explained as he moved forwards into the building, allowing Tsumori to follow soon after.

"Well, I shouldn't be surprised, he didn't exactly come off as the touchy feely type when I met him. I just thought maybe he just had a problem with me and maybe he acted differently when it was just the two of you. I guess not, too bad, I always imagined you with someone a bit more affectionate."

Nowaki's eyebrow twitched slightly. He reminded himself that Tsumori meant no damage, that the comment was just a simple statement based on his limited knowledge instead of the thinly veiled insult against Hiroki that it came across as. "He is actually very affectionate, just a bit shy." He began setting the bags down on the table as Tsumori made himself at home in a nearby chair.

"If he's shy then he brings a whole knew level of the word. He won't show anything resembling happiness or love towards someone he's been with for years but he's fine with yelling at the top of his lungs in a public place regardless of who it bothers."

"It's really not like that at all senpai, he has trouble with his pride and he gets embarrassed easily by acts of love, but he does show it. In fact I think the fact that he even tries to show me how he feels despite his pride shows just how much he really does love me more than any act of romance could."

"If you say so, but I've never seen him be anything but cold."

"Was there a reason you came here, senpai?" Nowaki finally questioned, getting tired of the mans ridicule towards Hiroki.

"Ah, yes! I almost forgot." A grin spread across Tsumori's face. "I'm kidnapping you. You worked hard for this break so we're celebrating whether you like it or not."

Nowaki frowned visibly. "I'm sorry but I'm busy. I'd love to another day but today I'm celebrating with Hiro-San."

"Aw, come on, he won't be back for hours! Just come out for a few celebratory drinks and you can be back in time to greet that man of yours and 'get to business'" Tsumori said the last part with a devious smirk and a wink in his underclassman's direction.

"I can't. That wasn't the kind of celebrating I had in mind for us," though, it would be a lie to say he wouldn't welcome that, it had been weeks. Nowaki, continued, "I have lots of things to set up, in fact I need to be starting right away so you can go out without me." Nowaki made his statement with a tone of finality. He had already mostly unpacked the various supplies and he was in the midst of going through his mental list of what needed to be done.

"Is that so?" Tsumori seemed disheartened by this and sighed dramatically. "I'm sorry, I did mean it as a joke but now you leave me no choice."

He stood and walked over to Nowaki who just looked to him in confusion as he drew nearer, asking what he had meant by his earlier declaration. Tsumori didn't responded, he only smirked and stuck his hand into Nowaki's back pocket with ease and pulled out the young doctors cell phone. He quickly dashed away to the other end of the room so it would not be snatched away and opened the compact device. Nowaki watched in confusion as his senpai opened the small device and began pressing buttons rapidly with his thumbs as he continued grinning.

"Ah, senpai, what are you..."

In response to Nowaki's question, Tsumori held the cell up proudly so that the screen was facing Nowaki and smirked evilly. "If you further refuse my invitation, I will not hesitate to press send. And if after that you still don't come, things will only escalate."

Nowaki looked to the screen of his cell phone. The messages was opened and addressed to Hiroki. He read over the message and his eyes widened to an abnormal size.

-Kamijou .H

Hiro-San, I've been thinking about this a lot. I'm sorry but I couldn't tell you in person but I'm unhappy. I don't think I can love you the way I used to, so I think we should break up. I've been seeing someone else for a while and I know they can make me happier. I'm sorry.

-Kusama N.

"You can't send that!" Nowaki pleaded. Under any circumstances this would be bad, that was the point, but Nowaki knew that his senpai wouldn't know just how bad this would be at this point in time. Hiroki was already upset and insecure and even if Nowaki quickly explained it was a prank, it wouldn't stop how much additional hurt would be inflicted on poor Hiroki in that time. It could be the straw that broke the camels back, for good this time.

"Then come drinking with me, then I won't have any reason to send it."

"But I really can't!"

"Too bad, I'll just have to send it then,"

"Please don't! I can't imagine how heart broken I would be if I got a mail from Hiro-San like that, I think I'd want to die right then and there! I don't want Hiro-San to ever feel that way! This is just cruel!"

"If you really care then you'll-" Tsumori was interrupted mid sentence by a loud ring coming from the device in his hand. "Oh, speak of the devil. Looks like your lover boy is calling. Too bad you can't answer."

Nowaki's eyes widened even more now, his heart almost stopping in his chest. He needed to take that call. He'd been waiting for it all day and it pretty much held the balance of his delicate relationship with Hiroki within it. Without a second thought, Nowaki sprung at Tsumori. He had to get to his phone and at this point he didn't care how he achieved that goal. Tsumori resisted, fighting to keep the cell out of the others reach like this was some sort of childish game, which to him it probably was. Nowaki, however, did not see it that way. He tackled Tsumori to the ground, reaching for the incoming call desperately.

Tsumori dodged the others attempts with agility and continued to spur Nowaki's desperation. Nowaki could feel his heart pound anxiously until he finally pushed the squirming doctor into a corner and pulled the cell from his grasp. Unfortunately, the call had expired, leaving Nowaki with a distressed facial expression. He knew Hiroki wouldn't like this in the least. He was still panting, his tiered state in addition to the exertion causing him to be without breath. Thinking quickly, ignoring the whining Tsumori he deleted the message written by the other and replaced it with his own.

-Kamijou .H

I'm sorry Hiro-San, I couldn't quite reach my phone. Is everything alright? Are you okay? I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon.

-Kusama N.

With a sigh of relief, Nowaki pressed send and glared at his senpai who ignored it. "Fine, fine, you don't have to come, but at least let me hang out and drink here for a while."

"That's fine by me, go to the kitchen and get a drink. I'll follow once I hear back from Hiro-San."

Tsumori nodded bored and left the room in search for alcohol. At that moment the ringing started up again and Nowaki answered it in an instant.

"Hiro-San! Hiro-San!" He panted out, still feeling short of breath.

"Nowaki? Are you panting?" Hiroki asked cautiously.

"Ano, I guess I am. Are you alright?re you alright? Like I said I was surprised you contacted me so early... About earlier, I-"

"I'm fine" Hiroki interrupted sharply. "I have some free time, I was wondering if you wanted to meet me for lunch?"

Nowaki bit at his lip slightly. He wanted to say yes, he really did, but if he left now it would ruin all his plans. "I'm sorry Hiro-San, I would love to but I, ano, I'm really quite exhausted, I'd probably just fall asleep halfway through" He lied guiltily.

"Oh, I can just come straight home and make you something if you'd like, I have enough time-"

"Please don't!" Nowaki blurted out without thinking. He knew right away he had done the wrong thing. "Ano, I mean-!"

"Ne, Nowaki, what's taking you?" Tsumori interrupted, yelling cheekily out from the next room.

"Just a minute, senpai!" He called back awkwardly then returned to his call. "Hiro-San, I'm sorry I just-"

"No, it's fine, I get it" Hiroki woke in a hurt tone, driving a steak through Nowaki's heart. "Have fun with your senpai. I'll see you when I see you. Bye." Hiroki hung up, leaving Nowaki in a state of shocked confusion. Now he'd really messed up he'd hurt Hiroki. He had done the one thing he had vowed to never do again. He really was a failure

-The next day-

-Hiroki-

The first thing Hiroki became aware of when he came into consciousness was the intense pounding in his skull. The second thing was the fact that he was face down in his laptop at his office desk. He groaned inwardly as he recalled how the previous night had lead to him sleeping at school and awakening with an anything but pleasant hangover.

~By the time Hiroki had drunken enough to get passed all that had been plaguing him it was already late at night. He sat at the bar, no longer ordering anything new. He was more than a little tipsy in comparison to Usami who was still sober, having not ordered a single drink all night. In reality he had just sat there for however many hour they had been there, listening to all. Hiroki had to say. Though at times he seemed more or less the uncaring type, Usami was a good friend when the need for it arose. Over the years Hiroki had been less then open about his life so there hadn't been too many occasions like this one but every time Hiroki's pride was demolished Usami would be there to listen and keep his friend from going off the edge. They never spoke of these times after the issue was resolved but they had an understanding of 'I'll be here if you need it it' and 'I know, thank you'.

"I'm leaving" Hiroki said finally, sitting up straight.

Usami lifted an eyebrow. "Where to?"

Hiroki just shrugged "don't know. I'll think of something. I'm not going home though, that's for sure."

"Stay with me. There's a spare room."

"No way! I already spent too much of your time, I'm not invading your space as well!" At least he had enough pride left for this much. "I'll sleep at my office. No big deal."

"If you insist." Usami pushed some money on his friend "at least take a taxi. I'll give you a call in the morning."~

Hiroki rubbed his temples gingerly. He didn't have work today so there was no real reason to be there, but he had no idea what to do. He didn't want to face Nowaki, at least not until he got over his hangover. He checked the time and saw it was already seven in the morning. Miyagi was due to arrive at any minute, much to Hiroki's displeasure. He was still groggy and his mouth was painfully dry so he sat up straight, willing the fog to clear from his mind. He reached out and grasped the water bottle he always kept at his desk, failing to notice that last he had touched it, the container had been completely empty, yet now was somehow filled to the brim with fresh water. Unfortunately for him, his mind was still too clouded by the after effects of sleep and alcohol.

Hiroki lifted the bottle to his lips and took a deep intake of the liquid, feeling refreshed as the cool flow filled his mouth and hit the back of his throat. After a moment he placed the bottle aside and relaxed back into his seat feeling slightly less like death. This peace, however, did not last as long as he had hopped. Within minutes of drinking from the bottle, Hiroki felt a dull pain begin to well in his stomach. He didn't pay it much mind to the sensation, opting to massage the aching area absently and focus his concentration on other things.

At this point, Hiroki's mind was occupied with going over and over all his options. No doubt Nowaki had tried getting hold of him at some point but that would have been impossible as he had no way of knowing where he was all night. It had seemed a good idea at the time to utterly destroy his mobile, but now he realised just how stupid and childish it was. He sighed and moved to stand when he felt a sudden, flaring pain in his middle section, causing him to wrap his arms around himself and groan. For a moment the feeling seemed to dull but it soon returned even stronger than before. The pain seemed to go through waves of intensity as it increasingly worsened. Eventually, the pain was enough to send the professor tumbling of his seat in order to kneel over a trash can and vomit all he had consumed the night before.

Hiroki didn't understand. He had never had stomach troubles with a hangover like this before. It had always just been his head. Yet now he found himself hardly able to keep himself upright anymore because of the combination of pain and nausea. Acid burned at his raw throat and left a sickly taste in his mouth. It was aN unfamiliar taste that set his nerves on edge. Cautiously, he looked down and saw something that made his heart skip a beat. Red. He was vomiting red. His first instinct was to panic but before he could do even that, he found the sides of his vision had begun to turn black. He didn't feel as if he were about to pass out, his sight was simply fading. If he weren't in so much pain he would have probably would have been more frightened, but he was in shock. He couldn't process the situation properly, he simply felt too weak. He collapsed to the ground, his eyes now seeing nothing at all. Hiroki was scared. Mere minutes ago he had had nothing but a simple headache, now this? How could he rationally explain it?

Faintly Hiroki heard the door to the office slide open and hope sparked up inside of him.

"M-Miyagi?" He rasped out hopefully, unable to see whoever had entered the room. He tried to lift himself off of the ground but failed miserably, letting out a whimper as the pain flared up once again,

"I'm sorry, my dear Kamijou." A sickeningly sweet voice rung out in the small room and Hiroki felt hands roam his body. It was unexplainable how, as he had never met this person before and could still not see his face, but Hiroki still knew without a doubt who this stranger was to him. He struggled as gentle hands caressed his trembling frame.

"Don't struggle, it will only make things worse. I'm not here to hurt you, after all. I only did this so you wouldn't see what I have to do." The voice spoke in a unnervingly kind and sincere tone of voice. Hiroki was drawn int the strangers embrace, now too weak to fight it.

"W-who are you?" Hiroki tried hard to sound strong but his voice came out a weak waver. "Get the hell off of me!"

The stranger ran his fingers lovingly through his captives hair and chuckled lightly like he was some kind of joke. "You've already figured out as much as I'm ready to tell. You did get my letter, after all."

That only managed to confirm Hiroki's suspicion. Whoever this man was, he was the person who had sent Hiroki the anonymous love letter. "You sent that letter... Why?"

"Why? Because I love you, of course. You see, I love you so much that I'm willing to risk you learning my identity in order to protect you." The strangers grip tightened astound the weakened professor.

"P-protect me!?" Hiroki demanded, ignoring the hitch in his voice as he spoke. "How is this protection!?" He demanded.

"It would be much worse if I didn't, you see. I. The jealous type." There was a sadistic hint in the a attackers words. A sort of childish delight. "I saw a man pick you up yesterday, so I followed. I could barely contain myself, but I held back. I listened to you speak of your lover and I became close to insane. The thought of allowing this to continue made me see red. I was overcome with the urge to eliminate the threat."

That statement made Hiroki's blood run cold. Had this lunatic hurt someone? Usami? Nowaki? His chest tightened painfully at the thought. If this person had laid a finger on either of them, he would never be able to let it go.

"I won't allow it." The stranger continued. "I will let it go this time, but if it happens again, my love, I won't be able to contain my jealousy. I love you, I love you, I love you more than any other could ever love you. Don't you understand? I couldn't live without you, and I won't let you live without me." A silky voice rained down upon Hiroki, causing him to shudder involuntarily as unfamiliar hands caressed his cheeks. The strangers hands were softer than his voice, but as cold as ice against his skin.

"I can't allow you to see my face just yet, because you are not yet ready. I'm sorry, but you gave me no other option. We had to meet but I can not yet show myself. If you behave and give me no reason to bring harm, then I will not. If you misbehave, then people will have to be hurt. Do you understand, my dear Hiroki?"

Hiroki opened his mouth but let out nothing but choked gasps as tears escaped his blinded eyes that now saw nothing but blackness. He cried out as hands grasped tightly into his chestnut hair.

"Do you understand?"

"Y-yes!" He cried out weakly, his head spinning.

"Good," Hiroki could basically hear the smile in his assaulters voice. "That's what I wanted to hear. Now, tell him that, and we can have our happily ever after."


End file.
